he understood that this sort of invitation may have seemed odd, but there was no better time to go exploring than in the dead of the night. it set the mood && not to mention, there would be less witnesses — even heroes-in-training could be reprimanded for sneaking into private property. this way, if someone were to come by, tokoyami could easily conceal the both of them with dark shadow.
the building he had in mind was less than a couple of blocks from the school. far enough that an awkward silence could form between them, but not so distant that it was physically exhausting. in front of them was a large mansion – it’s exterior so old that pieces were falling off && gaping holes were broken into it in numerous places. he could only assume that the inside was in a similar state. all he knew about this place was from what he gathered from several different online forums – each stating active paranormal entities inside. naturally, he was drawn to such a claim and wanted to see these ghosts for himself.
when inviting hoshi to come along, he had no idea whether or not she would have an interest in such activities. rather jumpy && anxious, he was unsure how well she would fare going into a building labeled as haunted. though, in the end he decided on leaving their destination ambiguous – simply asking her if she would like to hang out. perhaps if she was afraid, a more ‘spur-of-the-moment’ decision would be favorable. people tend to be more brave when put under pressure; their own classmates were proof of the matter.
❝ the nakamura manor. supposedly, a terrible tragedy occurred here decades ago. ❞ tokoyami replied casually. still unsure of whether she would be interested in such an adventure, he wouldn’t allow that to obscure any of the details given. if she could not stomach such a trip, he wouldn’t force it on her to enter the manor. ❝ as of right now, the building is owned by the state — there are no known occupants. ❞ — ‘known’, being a key word. these sort of places were rumored to house villains as well as the less fortunate; && naturally, daring teenagers would break in from time-to-time ( illicit actions ensuing ).
the way she asked about the paranormal activity within the building confused him – was she excited or was she scared. the sudden spike in her tone could suggest either. at least with that inquiry, he knew he had her hooked. as he answered her question, he wasted no time making his way up to the house – carefully listening to her delayed footsteps to be sure she followed. ❝ according to some, it’s suppose to be. though, i want to confirm it myself. ❞ finding truly haunted places was a rarity — most of the time, it was a product of people’s paranoia.
recognition flashed in her mind at the name, she'd heard of this place before. but she wasn't entirely sure from where. an itch to ask about it's history presented itself in the back of her thoughts, && she did her best to ignore it -- she felt asking too many questions may be obnoxious. though... maybe one or two couldn't hurt. after all he knew more about this place than she did, && he’d taken her there, asking a few questions was to be expected.
❝ do you know what kind of hauntings ? malicious or moderately peaceful -- poltergeist or something else ? ❞ only after the small volley of questions did she fall silent -- && quickly so. being reprimanded in the past for her questions had effectively trained her to grow weary of asking too many at once, though she didn’t expect him to grow annoyed or upset over it ( although her brain was screaming otherwise ) -- he was generally rather calm about these things. nonetheless she looked over the manor -- the shambles it was in, she recognized the unease surrounding the building. picking up her pace she picked her way through the disarray that was the lawn of the place.
❝ it'd be interesting if it's actually haunted. ❞ hoshi mumbled those words more to herself as she followed him, looking downwards to the path to make sure she didn't catch her foot on anything -- of course leading her to nearly running into her companion again once he stopped. luckily she sidestepped in time, avoiding collision but stumbling nonetheless.
clearing her throat she righted herself, giving tokoyami a sheepish smile before turning to manor. she hated that kind of embarrassment, like any normal person, it was always so... dumb the ways she managed to embarrass herself ( at least to her ). another reason why she avoided doing much outside of school && studying. her cheeks reddened some under the moonlight, && she averted her gaze to the manor. ❝ i'd imagine the entrances would be locked, && breaking the locks would cause a lot of noise... we should test the doors but maybe searching for another way in might be best... ❞
hoshi stared at the door, furrowing her brow in consideration. it was possible she could use her quirk to break the lock fairly silently, && given it was night she was at peak strength -- it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to do, ❝ though i might be able to break a lock quietly... if i get shadows in the lock and solidify them... or something along those lines... hm... ❞ thinking to herself she put a finger to her chin && fell silent, allowing tokoyami to do whatever it was he’d planned to do upon reaching the entrance.
